After the 45-minute drive down the mountain to the valley floor, we unloaded the car and settled into our room at the lodge where I immediately crashed to sleep off my Dramamine stupor. I woke in time to join our outdoorsy friends, Austin & Joanne, for dinner at The Mountain Room restaurant. Then we headed back to the room for a few hands of Rummy with our friends before hitting the sheets for the night. Whew! Day one down, three to go!
Next morning, we met up with our fellow adventurers at the Food Court for a hearty breakfast of eggs, sausage and toast. No marmalade? Boy, I thought. Now we're roughing it!
Time to prepare for our first hike of the trip. They encouraged me to pack a lunch just in case I decided to join them for a majestic wilderness meal out in…well…the wilderness. With assurances that I could hop the shuttle and return to the lodge at any time if I'd had my fill of majesty, I helped my hubby, Jerry, pick out a couple of lovely roast beef and cheese sandwiches on fresh hoagie rolls, a bag of chips, a couple of sodas, and headed out.
As soon as my sun-screened cheeks met the chill of the mountain air, I was transformed! I felt a sudden oneness with the outdoors, as if I knew every rock and tree and creature had a life, had a spirit, had a name.
Using my newly acquired oneness and its accompanying nature skills, I determined due North by observing the moss growing on a nearby tree. I led our expedition party along a snow-covered path, around a grove of trees, through dense brush to our first milestone, the shuttle pickup point.
As we disembarked from the shuttle, I called a hearty goodbye to our sherpa (driver) and waved him on his way.
I beckoned my fellow explorers to come run the hidden pine trails of the forest. Retrieving the baggy of trail mix I'd packed, I summoned them to come taste the sun sweet berries of the Earth, and paint with all the colors of the wind.
About then Jerry ordered me to either turn off my IPod or find something to listen to besides the soundtrack from Pocahontas.
The rest of the trip was incredible. Snow blanketed the sheltered groves. The falls roared and boomed as huge chunks of ice broke loose and landed among the rocks below. Deer grazed so close we could almost touch them. Mirror lake was rimmed with ice, but still reflected the tall pines that surround it.
I came away with a new appreciation for the outdoors in general, and the natural beauty of California in particular. Thanks to Joanne & Austin, I learned that every now and then we need to sing with all the voices of the mountains, and paint with all the colors of the wind.
Next morning, we met up with our fellow adventurers at the Food Court for a hearty breakfast of eggs, sausage and toast. No marmalade? Boy, I thought. Now we're roughing it!
Time to prepare for our first hike of the trip. They encouraged me to pack a lunch just in case I decided to join them for a majestic wilderness meal out in…well…the wilderness. With assurances that I could hop the shuttle and return to the lodge at any time if I'd had my fill of majesty, I helped my hubby, Jerry, pick out a couple of lovely roast beef and cheese sandwiches on fresh hoagie rolls, a bag of chips, a couple of sodas, and headed out.
As soon as my sun-screened cheeks met the chill of the mountain air, I was transformed! I felt a sudden oneness with the outdoors, as if I knew every rock and tree and creature had a life, had a spirit, had a name.
Using my newly acquired oneness and its accompanying nature skills, I determined due North by observing the moss growing on a nearby tree. I led our expedition party along a snow-covered path, around a grove of trees, through dense brush to our first milestone, the shuttle pickup point.
As we disembarked from the shuttle, I called a hearty goodbye to our sherpa (driver) and waved him on his way.
I beckoned my fellow explorers to come run the hidden pine trails of the forest. Retrieving the baggy of trail mix I'd packed, I summoned them to come taste the sun sweet berries of the Earth, and paint with all the colors of the wind.
About then Jerry ordered me to either turn off my IPod or find something to listen to besides the soundtrack from Pocahontas.
The rest of the trip was incredible. Snow blanketed the sheltered groves. The falls roared and boomed as huge chunks of ice broke loose and landed among the rocks below. Deer grazed so close we could almost touch them. Mirror lake was rimmed with ice, but still reflected the tall pines that surround it.
I came away with a new appreciation for the outdoors in general, and the natural beauty of California in particular. Thanks to Joanne & Austin, I learned that every now and then we need to sing with all the voices of the mountains, and paint with all the colors of the wind.
Moss on the north side??? Were you a little brownie or a girl scout??? Mirror Lake sounds wonderful, Camille--quite a scenic trip and it sounds like you didn't get your fill of majesty either~you can go back and hike more!
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